Fallen tree, RPL shut down power for Earlham
by Marisa Keller
Earlham’s power was shut down completely Wednesday night after a fallen tree behind a house on College Avenue caused a failure in Richmond Power and Light’s power grid.
After the first power outage just before 9 p.m., all of the buildings on campus still had some level of power, although college houses south of D Street were completely blacked out.
Alan Bigger, director of facilities, said that only part of Earlham’s electricity supply was out of commission. Bigger was called in by Security immediately after the power outage occurred. The Word found him conferring with Security officers in the doorway of Campus Safety and Security.
Bigger explained that the campus had lost its higher-voltage electricity, which normally powers large motors and some of the lighting.
“The other thing is - we’re saving energy!” Bigger joked.
Shortly thereafter, around 11 p.m., the rest of the lights went off, leaving campus black except for its emergency lighting.
Randy Thurston of Richmond Power and Light (RPL) said over the phone that the second blackout had occurred because the work crew had to shut off the power in order to work on the problem. Thurston said that the first outage had been caused by a tree falling on a power line on College Avenue.
Another RPL worker later reported that the sound many had heard coming from near the U at the time of the first power outage was a blown line fuse at the substation located behind Mills Hall.
A quick drive around the neighborhood at midnight showed that most of the area between Earlham and the Whitewater River south of U.S. 40 was blacked out. RPL work crews in utility trucks driving down College Avenue reported that they had found one tree on a power line but were still looking for another problem site.
At 2:56 a.m., lights all along College Avenue flickered on, but campus buildings remained dark. Power was restored to campus by 4:30 a.m.
Catie Kelly and Rosa Ostrom contributed reporting.
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